62 JUNE 2025 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG physical transformation and producer services until it reaches the final customer and eventual disposal after use.” From these definitions, it is clear that both supply and value chains are meant to meet consumer demand by integrating various processes that function collaboratively. However, before distinguishing between the two chains, it is essential to examine the stakeholders involved. We are quite aware that the same farmer, marketer, input supplier, and other stakeholders carry out the same set of activities in both the supply and value chains. If so, the crucial question arises: “What sets the supply chain and value chain apart in the aquaculture sector?” The distinction lies in the perspective from which these two chains are analysed. Supply chain and value chain analyses are two different approaches to examining the same chains, each with its own objectives, methodologies, and outcomes. Both ultimately aim to achieve profitability, competitive advantage, and customer satisfaction, but the way they prioritize and pursue these goals sets them apart. Supply Chain Analysis (SCA) SCA focuses on cost and time in delivering products to the customers. Its primary objective is to assess efficiency or operational efficiency, which involves completing tasks in the shortest time possible. Improved efficiency can lead to cost savings. This analysis evaluates efficiency of various stages in the fish supply chain, including inputs supply, logistics, warehousing, production, harvesting, processing, packaging, storage and marketing, all aimed at ensuring a smooth flow of fish to the consumer. By enhancing efficiency across these processes, supply chains can reduce costs and time, ultimately leading to higher profitability, competitive advantage, and customer satisfaction. Thus, the key goal of supply chain management is to identify and minimize challenges such as supply bottlenecks, operational costs, and delays in delivery while maximizing overall profitability. Aquaculture is a sunrise sector that is growing rapidly and playing a crucial role in ensuring food and nutritional security. It also serves as a major source of livelihood and employment for millions of people engaged directly or indirectly across different stages such as pre-production, production, and post-production within the aquatic food system. These stages involve a network of stakeholders whose interactions collectively form a chain. While some researchers refer to this as a supply chain, others describe it as a value chain, often leading to ambiguity between the two concepts as shown in Figure 1. Moreover, existing literature frequently defines both fish supply and value chains in a similar manner, describing them as systems involving the procurement of raw materials, their transformation into finished products, and their distribution to consumers. To clarify the distinction or overlap between these two chains, several critical questions need to be addressed: 1) Do supply and value chains function separately in the production and distribution of fish and fishery products within a given geographical region? 2) Do the key stakeholders, like input suppliers, fish or shrimp farmers, and marketers work separately in each chain? Specifically, does the same farmer participate in both chains and produce fish differently in each? While fisheries broadly include both capture and aquaculture systems, this article focuses primarily on aquaculture, which operates largely as a structured industrial supply and value system. Let’s begin by defining the concepts of supply chain and value chain. A supply chain refers to a network of interconnected business entities responsible for moving products from production to consumption, encompassing pre-production and post-consumption processes (De Silva, 2011). The value chain, on the other hand, is a more refined concept to the supply chain in evolution. Introduced by Michael Porter in his 1985 book “Competitive Advantage,” a value chain is defined as “the full range of activities required to bring a product or service from conception, through various production phases incorporating Supply Chain vs. Value Chain in the Aquaculture Sector: Untangling the Differences Karthik Kumar Goud Palsam and Ankush L. Kamble FIGURE 1. Illustration of Confusion Between Supply Chain and Value Chain Source: Own illustration A supply chain is the sequence of steps from the initial raw materials to the final consumer, focusing on cost and speed. A value chain looks at how to enhance the product through branding, safety labels, packaging, etc, to increase its market value. While supply chains aim for efficiency, value chains aim for effectiveness, and both are vital for profitability.
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